The present invention relates to a shoe and preferably according to the preferred embodiments to a self-closing mechanism within the shoe. The invention is chiefly designed for a self-closing shoe of the sport or athletic shoe variety, but the principles of the invention are applicable to shoes of many other types and styles.
Shoes that incorporate an automated fastening system are known in the prior art. However, none of the automated tightening systems heretofore devised have been entirely successful or satisfactory. Major shortcomings of the automated tightening systems of the prior art are their complexity, in that they involve numerous parts; the inclusion of expensive parts, such as small electric motors; the use of parts needing periodic replacement, e.g. a battery; and the presence of parts requiring frequent maintenance. These aspects, as well as others not specifically mentioned, indicate that considerable improvement is needed in order to attain an automated shoe that is completely successful and satisfactory.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,032,387 describes a shoe whereby energy for closing a shoe is procured by tapping a lever protruding from the heel and releasing the stored energy by tapping an additional lever on the back of the shoe. This shoe would inconveniently demand great agility in order to properly implement the closing and opening of the shoe, together with having to repeat the closing action with the heel numerous times in addition to the real risk of accidentally opening the shoe would make it really inappropriate to a significant proportion of people who would want to have an automated shoe for all of these reasons in addition to its having very many parts.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,791,068 describes a shoe with the same principal of the shoe described in this patent with stored energy while in the open state. However the shoe described involves many more parts including a rigorous casing and needs to be operated by hand.
There is therefore a need for a shoe with a simple mechanism for self-closing and release of the foot from a shoe.
The general purpose of the present invention is to provide an automated shoe that is devoid of the various shortcomings and drawbacks characteristic of shoes of this sort, which exist, in the prior art. Accordingly, the primary preferred objective of the present invention is to produce an automated tightening shoe, especially a sport or athletic shoe, that automatically tightens comfortably and securely around the wearer""s foot from both sides and that has a manual loosening capability. It is a further preferred objective of the present invention to attain the primary objective by providing an automated tightening system which requires no complex or expensive parts, and which includes no parts that need frequent maintenance or periodic replacement. Another preferred objective of the present invention is to provide an automated tightening shoe which is easy to operate and trouble-free in use. Tying shoes using conventional laces is tedious, and tied laces have a propensity to become untied. At best, this is a nuisance to many people. It can present a serious problem to handicapped people who either have difficulty bending over, or whose hands are partially disabled from arthritis or some other cause. People having these handicaps naturally tend toward loafer-type shoes that are pulled onto the feet, or into which the feet can be slipped into without using hands at all. Unfortunately, shoes of this type are never capable of providing the high-level foot support that a good athletic shoe can provide. There is a need, therefore, for a shoe that provides the complete support that a sophisticated athletic shoe, such as a cross-trainer, can provide, but at the same time is so simple to tighten and loosen that even handicapped persons can put their shoes on and take them off without difficulty. Advantages of this invention are that this mechanism enables all people, especially handicapped, obese, weakened, or low-functioning persons or those who have difficulty putting on and taking off laced shoes, to readily lace up and unlace more supportive shoes. A further preferred advantage of this invention is that it provides a shoe having an integral apparatus for automatically tightening the shoe around the foot of the wearer without requiring an expendable power source.
Another preferred advantage of this invention is that it provides a shoe with an integral apparatus, which can be easily actuated to loosen the shoe about the foot of the wearer The shoe is very conveniently fastened around the wearer""s foot by simply stepping into the shoe.
According to the teachings of the present invention there is provided a shoe with a self-closing mechanism for receiving a foot of a user, the shoe including a main shoe portion configured for receiving the foot and a top portion associated with a main shoe portion and displaceable between an open position in which the foot may be inserted into and removed from the main shoe portion and a closed position in which a foot is retained within the shoe. A resilient element is associated with the top portion and biased so as to tend to displace the top portion to an open position. There is a closing mechanism including at least one fastening cord passing between the main shoe portion and the top portion and a tensioning element configured to apply tension to the at least one fastening-cord so as to bias the top portion to the closed position, the mechanism being configured to overcome biasing of the resilient element and a releasing mechanism associated with the closing mechanism and configured to assume an activated state in which the releasing mechanism at least partially releases the tension applied by the closing mechanism and a deactivated state in which the tension applied by the closing mechanism is unaffected. The releasing mechanism further includes an actuator configured for causing the releasing mechanism to switch from said activated state to the deactivated state, with the actuator being deployed within the main shoe portion and configured to be operated by insertion of the foot into the main shoe portion.
The releasing mechanism of the shoe further includes a cable connecting the tensioning element to a release lever. The main shoe portion further includes a release lever track associated with the main shoe portion with the release lever being engaged to move up and down on the release lever track wherein displacement of the lever from the upper to the lower position results in the loosening of the fastening cords. The release-lever protrudes sufficiently for a foot-operated downward movement effective to activate tension in the closing mechanism thereby releasing foot. The releasing mechanism further includes a catch associated with the connecting cable employed for selectively retaining the releasing mechanism in the activated state. The actuator in the activated state catches the catch on the connecting cable as the releasing lever is depressed to the lower position as a result of tensioning the tensioning unit. The tensioning element is embedded within the main portion of the shoe and according to one preferred model can be associated with the release lever track.